Normal, Ohio

Normal, Ohio is an American television sitcom, which aired on the Fox Network in 2000. The show starred John Goodman as William "Butch" Gamble, a gay man returning to his Midwestern home town. The cast also included Joely Fisher, Anita Gillette, Orson Bean, Mo Gaffney and Charles Rocket. The original concept for the series was an odd Couple-style situation called Don't Ask, with Goodman as "Rex", sharing his West Hollywood apartment with college ... more

Normal, Ohio is an American television sitcom, which aired on the Fox Network in 2000. The show starred John Goodman as William "Butch" Gamble, a gay man returning to his Midwestern home town. The cast also included Joely Fisher, Anita Gillette, Orson Bean, Mo Gaffney and Charles Rocket. The original concept for the series was an odd Couple-style situation called Don't Ask, with Goodman as "Rex", sharing his West Hollywood apartment with college friend David (Anthony LaPaglia). Although the pilot was well-received, series creators Bonnie and Terry Turner felt that the premise was not strong enough for an ongoing series. LaPaglia's character was written out and the series was relocated to Ohio. The show was most notable for the divisions it exposed regarding American culture's view of homosexuality. Gamble, a bear type, was an average blue collar guy with many traits typical of American masculinity, including a love of football and beer, and very few of the traits stereotypically... less